Attention commuters: put down your earbuds!

A recent article in The Hearing Journal should give pause to mass transit commuters who use personal listening devices (PLDs) to mask background noise. Michelle Brady, AuD, Suzanne Miller, PhD, and Yula C. Serpanos, PhD, write that “[m]ass transit commuters are regularly exposed to excessive noise levels,” and note that use of PLDs “adds further stress on the auditory system as commuters listen at high volume levels to mask the background noise encountered during their daily commute.” By cranking the volume in areas of high noise, they note, commuters are “creating further risk of noise-induced hearing loss” (NIHL).

What makes NIHL insidious is that it “occurs in stages across several years,” and “[a]s such, its effects often go unnoticed.” Until they can’t be ignored, of course. The authors conducted a study on New York City commuters and found that “mass transit commuters in NYC do not completely understand the consequences of hearing loss and the proper use of PLDs.” They conclude that hearing health professionals need “to do a better job at educating the public about the risks of NIHL and safe listening habits.”

We agree that people need to be aware of the risks of NIHL, but also think there should be a role that government must play to protect citizens. And, of course, PLD manufacturers need to work with medical professionals and government to design safe PLDs that won’t deafen a generation.